Parental Involvement Policy

Part I. General Expectations

The I-LEAD Charter School (“ILCS” or “School”) agrees to implement the following statutory requirements:

The I-LEAD Charter School will put into operation programs, activities and procedures for the involvement of parents with children in Title I, Part A programs, consistent with Section 1118 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). Those programs, activities and procedures will be planned and operated with meaningful consultation with parents of participating children.

Consistent with Section 1118, the School will ensure that its parental involvement policy meets the requirements of Section 1118(b) of the ESEA, and includes, as a component, a school-parent compact consistent with Section 1118(d) of the ESEA.

The School will incorporate this parental involvement policy into its LEA plan developed under Section 1112 of the ESEA.

In carrying out the Title I, Part A parental involvement requirements, to the extent practicable, the I-LEAD Charter School will provide full opportunities for the participation of parents with limited English proficiency, parents with disabilities, and parents of migratory children, including providing information and school reports required under Section 1111 of the ESEA in an understandable and uniform format and, including alternative formats upon request, and, to the extent practicable, in a language parents understand.

If the LEA plan for Title I, Part A, developed under Section 1112 of the ESEA, is not satisfactory to the parents of participating children, the School will submit any parent comments with the plan when the School submits the plan to the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

The I-LEAD Charter School will involve the parents of children served in Title I, Part A in decisions about how the 1 percent of Title I, Part A funds reserved for parental involvement is spent, when applicable.

The School will be governed by the following statutory definition of parental involvement, and will carry out programs, activities and procedures in accordance with this definition: Parental involvement means the participation of parents in regular, two-way, and meaningful communication involving student academic learning and other school activities, including ensuring— ▪ (A) That parents play an integral role in assisting their child’s learning; ▪ (B) That parents are encouraged to be actively involved in their child’s education at school; ▪ (C) That parents are full partners in their child’s education and are included, as appropriate, in decision-making and on advisory committees to assist in the education of their child; ▪ (D) The carrying out of other activities, such as those described in Section 1118 of the ESEA. ▪ The School informs parents and parental organizations of the purpose and existence of the PA State Parent Advisory Council (http://www.spac.k12.pa.us)

Part II. Description of How the Charter School Will Implement Required Parental Involvement Policy Components

The I-LEAD Charter School will take actions to involve parents in the joint development of its parental involvement plan under Section 1112 of the ESEA.

The I-LEAD Charter School will take actions to involve parents in the process of school review and improvement under Section 1116 of the ESEA.

The I-LEAD Charter School will coordinate and integrate parental involvement strategies in Part A with parental involvement strategies.

The I-LEAD Charter School will take actions to conduct, with the involvement of parents, an annual evaluation of the content and effectiveness of this parental involvement policy in improving the quality of its Title I, Part A school. The evaluation will include identifying barriers to greater participation by parents in parental involvement activities (with particular attention to parents who are economically disadvantaged, are disabled, have limited English proficiency, have limited literacy, or are of any racial or ethnic minority background). The School will use the findings of the evaluation about its parental involvement policy and activities to design strategies for more effective parental involvement, and to revise, if necessary (and with the involvement of parents) its parental involvement policies.

The I-LEAD Charter School will build the School’s and parents’ capacity for strong parental involvement in order to ensure effective involvement of parents and to support a partnership among the School, parents, and the community to improve student academic achievement, through the following activities specifically described below:A. Hold an annual meeting to inform parents of the School’s participation in Title I, Part A programs, and to explain the Title I, Part A requirements, and the right of parents to be involved in Title I, Part A programs. The I-LEAD Charter School will convene the meeting at a convenient time to parents, and will offer a flexible number of additional parental involvement meetings, such as in the morning or evening, so that as many parents as possible are able to attend. The School will invite to this meeting all parents of children participating in Title I, Part A programs (participating students), and will encourage them to attend.On the request of parents, provide opportunities for regular meetings for parents to formulate suggestions, and to participate, as appropriate, in decisions about the education of their children. The I-LEAD Charter School will respond to any such suggestions as soon as practicably possible.Provide each parent timely notice when their child has been assigned or has been taught for four (4) or more consecutive weeks by a teacher who is not highly qualified within the meaning of the term in section 200.56 of the Title I Final Regulations (67 Fed. Reg. 71710, December 2, 2002).Provide to parents of participating children information in a timely manner about Title I, Part A programs that includes a description and explanation of the school’s curriculum, the forms of academic assessment used to measure children’s progress, and the proficiency levels students are expected to meet.Provide to each parent an individual student report about the performance of their child on the State assessment in at least math, language arts and reading.The I-LEAD Charter School will provide assistance to parents in understanding topics, such as the following, by undertaking the actions described in this paragraph:

the State’s academic content standards,

the State’s student academic achievement standards,

the State and local academic assessments including alternate assessments,

the requirements of Part A,

how to monitor their child’s progress, and

how to work with educators.

B. The School will provide materials and training to help parents work with their children to improve their children’s academic achievement, such as literacy training, and using technology, as appropriate, to foster parental involvement, by:

C. The I-LEAD Charter School will, with the assistance of its parents, educate its teachers, pupil services personnel, principals and other staff, in how to reach out to, communicate with, and work with parents as equal partners, in the value and utility of contributions of parents, and in how to implement and coordinate parent programs and build ties between parents and the school.

D. The School will, to the extent feasible and appropriate, coordinate and integrate parental involvement programs and activities with Head Start, Reading First, Early Reading First, Even Start, Home Instruction Programs for Preschool Youngsters, the Parents as Teachers Program, and public preschool and other programs, and conduct other activities, such as parent resource centers, that encourage and support parents in more fully participating in the education of their children.

E. The I-LEAD Charter School will take actions to ensure that information related to the School and parent programs, meetings, and other activities, is sent to the parents of participating children in an understandable and uniform format, including alternative formats upon request, and, to the extent practicable, in a language the parents can understand.